About the South Dakota State Historical Society
The South Dakota State Historical Society traces its origins to the Old Settlers Association of Dakota Territory, organized in 1862, and became an official arm of state government in 1901. Today it is an office within the South Dakota Department of Education and runs five programs: Archaeology, Archives, Historic Preservation, Museum, and Research and Publishing. Most of them are housed at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre, a building opened in 1989 to mark the state's centennial. The State Archaeological Research Center is in Rapid City, and an archival microfilm unit operates at the Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield.
The museum at the Cultural Heritage Center recently reopened after a remodel with new exhibits that follow South Dakota's people from the horse cultures of the Northern Plains through the homestead era to recent community builders. The State Historic Preservation Office administers the National Register of Historic Places program for South Dakota and runs a historic sites survey and grant funding. The Archaeological Research Center studies and exhibits the state's archaeological record. The South Dakota Historical Society Press, founded in 1997, publishes books on the state and region, including the Pioneer Girl Project, and the Society produces the History 605 podcast, carried by South Dakota Public Broadcasting. A Speakers Bureau sends presenters to groups across the state, and an online calendar lists history, archaeology and preservation programs.
Collections and Research Services
The State Archives is the Society's genealogical core. It holds more than 12,000 cubic feet of records, including manuscript collections, state, county and town government records, photographs and maps, and it serves historians, attorneys, students, preservationists and family researchers alike. The research room at 900 Governors Drive is open Monday through Friday by appointment only, in two blocks, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4:30 p.m.; a full day requires two appointments. Call the reference desk at (605) 773-3804 or email StateArchives@state.sd.us, and name the collections you need (box numbers, call numbers or microfilm rolls) so staff can have them waiting at your table. Visitors complete a registration form, store bags in a locker, and may use two public computers and free Wi-Fi; a separate form covers digital camera use. Before you travel, search the South Dakota Digital Archives, the Newspapers Online collection, the library catalog, ArchivesSpace and the online collection indexes, which cover a good deal of the material remotely. Our guides to free family history research and finding where someone is buried explain how state archives like this one fit with county and federal records.
Planning Your Visit
The Cultural Heritage Center is at 900 Governors Drive in Pierre. Museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 4:30 p.m.; the museum phone is (605) 773-3458. Archives hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4:30 p.m., by appointment. Admission prices are not listed on the Society's website, so confirm them at history.sd.gov, where you will also find the events calendar and the Pierre Travel Guide link for lodging and other stops in Pierre and Fort Pierre.
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